Woman seriously injured in Greektown hit-and-run: 'She can still feel what the tires felt like on her body'
After surviving a brain aneurysm in 2019, Kelly Mahan started running to relieve stress and stay in shape.
Mahan, 44, was jogging Saturday evening in the Greektown neighborhood when she was struck from behind by a vehicle and run over.
She was jogging in the bike lane, and as she turned right from Madison Street onto Halsted Street, a driver in a Black Toyota Rav4, also turning right, struck Mahan, according to a police report.
"She said she can still feel what the tires felt like on her body," her sister Molly Mahan said.
Mahan’s body “flew in the air and hit the floor,” according to witnesses, as the driver continued south on Halsted Street.
Another woman was standing across the street when the crash occurred. She asked not to be named out of concern for her safety, but said she dialed 911 and immediately ran to Mahan, telling her “I got you, I got you.”
“Without any regard for her, the car basically just turned right onto Halsted, ran over her … just ran over her back and dashed co mpletely straight on Halsted as if absolutely nothing had happened,” the witness told the Sun-Times."I didn't see any brake lights.”
As the woman stayed with Mahan, another witness ran after the vehicle and captured a picture of the license plate.
An ambulance arrived within minutes and rushed Mahan to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, according to the woman and a police report.
Mahan suffered multiple broken bones and was rushed into surgery. Her recovery could take up to six months, her family said.
"She’s in extreme pain," said her father, Tim Mahan. "She has a number of broken ribs, a broken ankle. She also has a broken nose and scapula. It’s lucky that she’s alive."
"She's covered in bruises, and you can still see the tire marks on her body," Mahan's sister said. "It hurts her to move, and she can't even sit up on her own."
Tim Mahan said his daughter started running after recovering from a brain aneurysm five years ago and it had become a part of her daily routine. The family never imagined running would lead to another tragedy.
"Sometimes she runs up to 8 miles at a time." he said. "It makes her feel good. Or did make her feel good."
Running helped relieve stress and the headaches she'd suffered since the aneurysm, he said.
Tim Mahan said the family hasn't heard much from police but hope they'll be able to find whomever was responsible and make an arrest soon.
"It’s a miracle that she wasn’t killed," he said. "You feel very helpless. There’s nothing you can really do aside from hoping the police are able to find the individual and put that person to justice. But in the meantime, I’m watching my daughter suffer tremendously."
Chicago police have surveillance video of the hit-and-run along with the vehicle's license plate. As of Monday afternoon, there were no updates in the investigation.
Tim Mahan and Molly have been at the hospital since Saturday and said they are grateful that Kelly will be able to recover despite the long journey ahead.
“I've been thinking about her for two days,” the witness told the Sun-Times. “I really hope they can boot the car … just identify the vehicle through whatever means that they have because the car just ran over her,” the woman from the scene said. “And then very much tried to get away.”